Tag: vietnamese

I’m happy to have Tio Wally (long-time Me So Hungry reader) aboard to send in his eating adventures from across America. Here he is in San Jose, California.

Greetings from Sunnyvale, California
N 37° 22.263′  W 121° 59.004′  Elev. 36 ft.

The SS Me So Hungry sailed into this aptly named San Francisco Bay-area port and was greeted with some of the best weather this planet has to offer. And some awesome food to match.

I had the good fortune to meet up with a very dear friend I hadn’t seen for nearly 40 years. He promptly whisked me off to Khahn’s Garden Restaurant, an incredible Vietnamese restaurant in nearby San Jose, located just a couple of blocks from the Winchester Mystery House.

For starters we had Fresh Rolls, sort of a spring roll wrapped in rice paper, that were simply the best. Cool and refreshing, with a hint of mint, they were served with a mild hoisin dipping sauce with crushed peanuts in it. Man, were they good. Really delicate flavors and made with the freshest ingredients.

The Rice Plate entrees we ordered came with a remarkably simple salad of iceberg lettuce. It was fresh, crunchy, in a vinaigrette dressing somewhat like watered-down seasoned rice vinegar, yet still incredibly flavorful. The dressing was so good, in fact, that I drank the rest of it after finishing the salad.

For his entree my friend ordered the BBQ Pork, thinly sliced marinated pork loin with a really interesting, sweetish flavor. I was impressed by how tender the meat was and, again, by the delicate-ness of the flavor. For my entree I got Lemon Grass Chicken. It too was delicious and tender. I was surprised, though, because I was expecting it to be saucy, like the Thai make it. But it was actually sort of dry sauce-wise, while the chicken was moist and tender. It was quite heavenly, really.

For dessert my friend got Flan. I didn’t expect to see flan at a Vietnamese restaurant. I always thought flan was a Latino thing. Then again, San Jose is a very diverse place. For my dessert I ordered a scrumptious little affair they called Paradiso. It was a thin little circle of sponge cake topped with alternating layers of Mango and Coconut mousse, topped with a fresh, ripe Gooseberry. It was so pretty that I almost hated to eat it. I expected the flavors to be very pronounced but they weren’t at all. In fact it didn’t really taste of Mango or Coconut. It sure was good though. It was nice and cold, and served with a chilled spoon to boot.

I thought Khahn’s was incredibly reasonably priced, especially considering the quality of the food; the total bill came to $38. And the service was incredibly top-notch, too.

Khahn’s boasts that it’s been voted Best Vietnamese Restaurant in San Jose for 7 years in a row. I could easily taste why.

And so we roll.

Khahn’s Garden Restaurant, 335 South Winchester Blvd., San Jose, California

Tio Wally pilots the 75-foot, 40-ton(max) land yacht SS Me So Hungry. He reports on road food from around the country whenever parking and InterTube connections permit.